Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Walk back, Walk back Date:   1/21/2022 6:19:47 PM

In the case of Reagan, the best that can be said is that he was a great orator and he had an ability to make people feel better about being Americans, after the humilitation of the Carter years.  I think he was successful just by the force of his personality.  It's well known that after he was shot, he started experiencing that beginnings of dementia and most of his second term was governed by the people in his cabinet.  Good thing he had good people.

In the case of Trump, he had good policies and was almost singular in keeping his campaign promises.  But the nonstop media condemnation of his Administration played to a weakness in his personality.  I don't think he is senile or dimished in his mental abilities. Trump never mastered the game of "optics" which is important in Washington and he seems to have no capability of seeing what people need when they need it.  He's not empathetic.  

My feeling about Biden is that he was not a smart man - not in all his years in Congress.  He got by on personality.  He was a good cheerleader, but he was never a leader.  He still is not a smart man, and it's pretty clear that he has diminished mental capabilities - he is 78.  When you combine that with him being not too smart to start with, you get w+hat we've got.   

But, I am in favor of getting rid of all the codgers and bringing in new blood.  I can tell you that at my age, and I am significantly younger than Biden, and I can tell you that I am not as fast on my feet as I used to be, and I'm not on a international stage and not in charge of leading anything other than my pack of dogs.